The Tigers made out like bandits here. Soria looked average at best for the past 2 months, what they got is impressive since his value was very low. Fuller was a steal for Yo. If the tigers wanted Yo back, they had to trade him because of that stupid contract clause. Now, they have the same chance as everyone else. Norris alone for price was a deal, but Boyd may end up being the Alex Wilson of the trade. Crafty lefty with great control.

Not to mention, with these trades, they will now avoid the luxury tax.

I agree the Tigers did well. We have to also consider that the Padres had a bunch of players to trade and were actively shopping them but ended up not making deals. So DD got a couple arms that have a chance to be mid or top of the rotation - in Fulmer and Norris and a few other guys that seem to be more than just flyers - while some other teams sat on there hands and will get nothing. We ll see if Davis or Avila can be moved in a waiver trade. You never know when an injury hits and a team may need a starting catcher or someone who could potentially hit leadoff.

As for the rest of this season - I am actually more interested in this team rather than the sputtering hopeless bid for the wildcard that never looked like it had a shot at happening. We should get a good look at Norris and maybe we ll even see Cessa and/or Boyd although it may be wiser to keep Cessa's free agency clock from starting especially since he hasnt dominated AAA yet. It d be nice if Lobstein makes it back from an injury and they can figure out was his role might be going forward as well as a chance to sort out what they have if anything among Farmer, Rondon, Ryan, VerHagen, Nesbitt, Ferrel, etc. Maybe we see some of the Tigers OF prospects like Collins, Fields, Moya get a chance against major league pitching. What Verlander does with the rest of this season will also be a big factor on if the Tigers will decide to do in the offseason. If Verlander builds off these last 2 starts and actually shows he has some pitching acumen besides just blowing the fastball past people the Tigers have a good foundation to be competitive again in 2016.

Looking towards the offseason the focus again looks like it will be pitching both with starters and late inning arms. The Tigers will have some money to pursue free agents as well as now have a few tradable prospects to shop for specific players that they like.

]]>2015-07-31T17:29:05-04:002015-07-31T17:29:05-04:00http://www.lionbacker.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17613&p=250129#p250129Cespades will be our LFer next season. And we got 2 decent SP prospects to boot.

Ironically, the Tigers best chance to sign him as a FA was by trading him.

When the A's signed him as an international FA, Cespades had a clause put in his contract that he must be released after the 2015 season. This clause guarantees him free agency because when a team releases a player, they no longer have the right to place a qualifying offer on him. The team would have a 3 day exclusive negotiating period to re-sign him. After that, the team can have no further contact with the player until May 15.

By trading him to the Mets, the Mets have to release him. And the Tigers can step in after the 3 day exclusive period and sign him to a new contract.

]]>2015-07-31T17:03:57-04:002015-07-31T17:03:57-04:00http://www.lionbacker.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17613&p=250128#p250128Both are AA/AAA. Both look interesting. I think Fulmer might get a shot before this year is over.

]]>2015-07-31T09:05:21-04:002015-07-31T09:05:21-04:00http://www.lionbacker.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17613&p=250127#p250127Statistics: Posted by BillySims — July 31st, 2015, 9:05 am
]]>2015-07-31T01:05:25-04:002015-07-31T01:05:25-04:00http://www.lionbacker.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17613&p=250126#p250126Soria trade: Kind of a surprising trade bc the Pirates were not desperate for bullpen help. Not a great trade but the Tigers would get nothing for Soria walking at the end of year. The description on Jones is that he is very athletic, has size and some power and can field well enough to stay at SS or cover a couple other spots as well - ie OF/2B maybe even 3B though he hasnt played there. Again there is something to work with but the Tigers will have to teach him to hit or else he s just a guy that comes up eventually and serves as depth and as a utility player. Not a sure thing by any means but his athleticism probably gives him a decent chance to make it to the majors at some point and his tools give the Tigers some hope that there could be an upside. He s not someone that I would expect to see putting on the English D before 2017, however. It seems he s being brought around slowly so he can develop. Tigers shouldnt necessarily look to change that.

Cespedes - hopefully the next one and he could have a return slightly less than Price and we all can keep our fingers crossed the TIgers sign him in FA too...Davis - was hoping he would be paired with Soria to increase the return of a better prospect.Avila - looking unlikely we ll get anything for himKinsler - he s on a tear but the contract isnt great

]]>2015-07-30T21:11:59-04:002015-07-30T21:11:59-04:00http://www.lionbacker.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17613&p=250124#p250124Soria to the Pirates for a SS that has 3 games above Single A. He will not make it to the big leagues as a SS because of Iglasias. He has also played a few games at CF and 3rd Base. Ideally, he will make the switch to 2nd Base and be ready to take over there either next year or the year after.

A number of teams are said to be interested in Cespades. But, nothing concrete at the time of this posting.

Edited to add: I should clarify my not being impressed with what we got in the Price trade. I think we got a lot less than we would have if Dumb Rowski would have made up his mind to sell even 2 days earlier when Tampa Bay put us 3 games under 500. But, he dilly dallied, and other teams didn't really have time to get into a bidding war. From comments I have heard on Sirius/XM MLB Radio, I have surmised that the Dodgers would have given us a boatload of prospects for him. But, they couldn't sit around and wait for Dumb Rowski to make up his mind.

If I'm not mistaken, Ausmus is unproven. Since he has taken over the team seems to start out on fire then fall flat on their faces. Why can't he get this team to maintain their momentum? Maybe its time he's put on the hot seat.

thats a great question im not sure anyone knows for sure but certainly they have far less talent in the starting rotation than they did one and two years ago and have never adequately addressed a weak bullpen. it would be unfair to say its all on the manager however i do think there are issues with the coaching staff in general. shane greene was much better as a yankee last year than as a tiger this year, robbie ray is a lot better as a diamondback this year than as a tiger last year, drew smyly pitched like a top of the rotation arm when he went to tampa. bullpen arms like rondon, alburquerque, krol arent developing very much. verlander s lost some velocity but they cant get anything out of him? i mean he s still throwing mid 90s when he wants to. also, i think ausmus does not do much to yield a strategic advantage and there have been a lot of boneheaded plays in the field and on the bases and a poor job managing the pitchers. alex wilson in a close game pitched an 8 pitch 8th inning and then out come ian krol and rondon in the 9th to blow the game wide open.

Last season, Jim Bowden, ( former GM Cinci Reds, and current radio host on Sirius/XM MLB Radio), asked several Kansas City Royals players what the difference was between them and the Tigers. They all said that they come to play every day. The Tigers don't.

The Tigers are so good, they think they can just throw their hats and gloves on the field everyday and get a win just for showing up. They are perfectly satisfied to just be good. They have no ambition to be great!

Agreed and this falls directly on the manager and coaching staff.

The Tigers need to do some soul-searching this off-season and if they're serious about winning the WS, they need to make the appropriate moves. Time to either clean house and get a new manager and staff or get players that will play for the current regime.

If I'm not mistaken, Ausmus is unproven. Since he has taken over the team seems to start out on fire then fall flat on their faces. Why can't he get this team to maintain their momentum? Maybe its time he's put on the hot seat.

thats a great question im not sure anyone knows for sure but certainly they have far less talent in the starting rotation than they did one and two years ago and have never adequately addressed a weak bullpen. it would be unfair to say its all on the manager however i do think there are issues with the coaching staff in general. shane greene was much better as a yankee last year than as a tiger this year, robbie ray is a lot better as a diamondback this year than as a tiger last year, drew smyly pitched like a top of the rotation arm when he went to tampa. bullpen arms like rondon, alburquerque, krol arent developing very much. verlander s lost some velocity but they cant get anything out of him? i mean he s still throwing mid 90s when he wants to. also, i think ausmus does not do much to yield a strategic advantage and there have been a lot of boneheaded plays in the field and on the bases and a poor job managing the pitchers. alex wilson in a close game pitched an 8 pitch 8th inning and then out come ian krol and rondon in the 9th to blow the game wide open.

Last season, Jim Bowden, ( former GM Cinci Reds, and current radio host on Sirius/XM MLB Radio), asked several Kansas City Royals players what the difference was between them and the Tigers. They all said that they come to play every day. The Tigers don't.

The Tigers are so good, they think they can just throw their hats and gloves on the field everyday and get a win just for showing up. They are perfectly satisfied to just be good. They have no ambition to be great!

If I'm not mistaken, Ausmus is unproven. Since he has taken over the team seems to start out on fire then fall flat on their faces. Why can't he get this team to maintain their momentum? Maybe its time he's put on the hot seat.

thats a great question im not sure anyone knows for sure but certainly they have far less talent in the starting rotation than they did one and two years ago and have never adequately addressed a weak bullpen. it would be unfair to say its all on the manager however i do think there are issues with the coaching staff in general. shane greene was much better as a yankee last year than as a tiger this year, robbie ray is a lot better as a diamondback this year than as a tiger last year, drew smyly pitched like a top of the rotation arm when he went to tampa. bullpen arms like rondon, alburquerque, krol arent developing very much. verlander s lost some velocity but they cant get anything out of him? i mean he s still throwing mid 90s when he wants to. also, i think ausmus does not do much to yield a strategic advantage and there have been a lot of boneheaded plays in the field and on the bases and a poor job managing the pitchers. alex wilson in a close game pitched an 8 pitch 8th inning and then out come ian krol and rondon in the 9th to blow the game wide open.

]]>2015-07-28T10:13:42-04:002015-07-28T10:13:42-04:00http://www.lionbacker.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17598&p=250117#p250117If I'm not mistaken, Ausmus is unproven. Since he has taken over the team seems to start out on fire then fall flat on their faces. Why can't he get this team to maintain their momentum? Maybe its time he's put on the hot seat.

Rumor has it that Cespedes like Detroit and he may have a shot at re-signing in the offseason even if he s traded. So in the offseason sign Cespedes, look for a closer or setup guy and a frontline starter and possibly maneuver in some way to upgrade starting spots at CF or 3B by trading.

Well, the tigers are pretty much done for. I so cannot wait for football season now. Too bad the kitties will end up tearing my heart out again.

The royals and twins are playing damn good ball and the Tigers need 2 starting pitchers and couple relievers. It's not worth gutting the few nice single A guys we have to get a haren or Latos.

It's time to finally be sellers. Get a decent haul for price, cespy, and Soria. Price will bring s solid prospect and a nice young developmental guy.

DD needs to find a couple nice young starters. By trading price, we can see farmer on a regular basis and see what he's got. Lobster is a month away or so, as he just started throwing again. Hell, Sanchez would fetch one of the biggest hauls...he's making like $14M/per and is far better than a guy like Porcello who brought a year of cespy, Alex Wilson who has been phenomenal, and spaier who has some potential (and Ricky is making $6M more per).

Oh yeah, and extend JD for 6 yr / $90M

I agree. I would keep Iglasias, JD Martinez, Gose, McCann, Lobstein, and Green( he is young and has shown he can dominate, we shouldn't give up on him yet).Everyone else, including Miggy should be sold to the highest bidder. I see this years team as being like the 1987 Tigers. The last decent team before we suffered through 20 years of putrid baseball. And our farm system is far more devoid of talent right now, than it was then. There is absolutely nothing from double A on up. And I am not so sure we even have anything to be excited about in single A. Maybe in this years draft. But, it is far too soon to know that.